


Ribbons

by Brieeze01



Category: Mo Dao Zu Shi, The Founder of Diabolism, The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 魔道祖师 | Módào Zǔshī (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Anal Sex, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Porn, Broken people, Dark Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Dark Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Fucked Up Love, Gentle Kissing, Gentle Sex, Insecurities, Kissing, Love at First Sight, M/M, Messed up love, Oral Sex, Reincarnation, Rimming, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Suicidal Thoughts, True Love, Two Shot, assassin Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, dark and romantic, gang leader Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, gang member Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, mafia Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, mafia Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, possessive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:47:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 21,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27164065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brieeze01/pseuds/Brieeze01
Summary: Lan WangJi slipped to his feet at 5 til midnight and took a graceful leap off the edge of the roof to drop down to a balcony outside apartment 8109, that chilly wind fluttering the tips of his long braid that lay over a silver sword strapped to his back.He peered around the wall through the sliding glass doors to see a man sitting there with his back to him just as the barest edge of that harvest moon peeked out around those heavy clouds that brought with them the promise of rain.Lan WangJi considered his target with cold golden eyes, not a single shred of emotion inside him. His heart didn’t move in his chest, didn’t feel horror or excitement, no nervousness or regret that this stranger would die by his hand.The man inside that apartment was still in his chair in the darkness of the room and he had hair so long it trailed down to the lower curve of his back, the strands around his face held tight by a red ribbon that cut a bold line down his spine in crimson, like fresh blood.He slipped into the room and reached his target with a few swift steps before he swung his sword around to press against his throat firmly, no mercy in his hand.“Any last words?” He spoke softly into the silence.
Relationships: Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín/Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn
Comments: 66
Kudos: 609





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a two-shot, each part more or less stands alone, they are loosely connected, part 1 is WangXian, part 2 XiCheng, thank you for reading and I hope you like it =^_^=

The glow of the huge harvest moon disappeared behind a scattering of thick grey clouds cutting off the light and leaving the night dark as a man in all black lay flat on the rooftop of a high rise apartment building. He stared up at the play of the clouds across the sky listlessly as the chilly winds of autumn blew cold, tossing the thick bangs from his pale face, the strands caressing the black mask over his nose and mouth.

He had no patience for the beautiful fall moon, great and yellow above him. He didn’t care about it, he didn’t care for the view or the scattering of stars that framed it. There was no room in his chest for a heart and he had long since made peace with that. Nothing moved him anymore, not pretty sceneries, not attractive people, not music or dance, nothing in this cruel world held charm for him after so many years in this dark, macabre life. 

What did it matter how beautiful the moon looked that night? What would it change? Would it ease the rivers of blood he bathed in? Would it lessen the weight of the dead on his soul? 

It would not 

Nothing could save him, nothing could move the dead heart in his chest and he glanced down at his watch with apathy. He felt nothing anymore, not joy, not happiness, not interest, not hatred, just a profound nothingness that painted his life in tones of grey. He was empty and cold and dark as though he were nothing more than a corpse just like all of his victims. 

Lan WangJi slipped to his feet at 5 til midnight and took a graceful leap off the edge of the roof to drop down to a balcony outside apartment 8109, that chilly wind fluttering the tips of his long, black braid that lay over a silver sword strapped to his back. 

He peered past the wall through the sliding glass doors to see a man sitting there with his back to him just as the barest edge of that harvest moon peeked out around those heavy clouds that brought with them the promise of rain.

Lan WangJi considered his target with cold golden eyes, not a single shred of emotion inside him. His heart didn’t move in his chest, didn’t feel horror or excitement, no nervousness or regret that this stranger would die by his hand. 

The man inside that apartment was still in his chair in the darkness of the room and he had hair so long it trailed down to the lower curve of his back, the strands around his face held tight by a red ribbon that cut a bold line down his spine in crimson, like fresh blood. 

~*~

“WangJi, I have another assignment for you,” Lan XiChen spoke quietly into the air of his elegant office as his younger brother stood up from his nonchalant lean against the far wall, his golden eyes flat and disinterested. He wore all black like he always did, form fitting cargo pants, a turtleneck and no nonsense combat boots on his feet, his hair pulled tight in a long braid. He had a white band around his forehead that branded him as a Lan, as part of the elite underground mafia that ruled Gusu City with an iron fist and no mercy. 

Lan XiChen stood up from his heavy oak desk in his crisp white suit looking every bit immaculate and perfect as he trained his piercing brown eyes on his brother, “your target will be a man in apartment 8109 at Silver Points at midnight, see to it that he doesn’t see dawn”

XiChen glanced across the office to meet his brother’s unreadable golden gaze and see the short nod Lan WangJi gave him before he turned on his heel and disappeared out the door leaving ZeWu-Jun behind with eyes just as cold and empty as his own. 

He watched him leave on silent feet before he settled himself down in his high back office chair with a sigh. He was world weary after 20 years in this macabre life of murder and extortion and control. He ran the most powerful mafia Gusu had ever seen turning it into a well oiled machine of efficiency and skill. 

The members of his organization were elite, highly trained, loyal to a fault and they had ushered in the greatest era the GusuLan had ever seen financially and strategically. They had allies all over the world from the Yakuza in Japan who sent them drugs of all kinds to the opium runners in the Shanghai Syndicate in China. They were partners with the Bratva in Russia who funneled stolen luxury cars through Gusu’s international port like clockwork at the end of every month and they rubbed shoulders with the cocaine dealers in Central America. 

Nothing happened in Gusu without ZeWu-Jun’s knowledge or approval and he cast his eyes to the side as he considered his younger brother’s empty, dead eyed stare. Lan WangJi had been trained with him since infancy to be cold and cruel, to deal in death and blood and just as it killed the life inside XiChen, it stole the stars from those golden eyes and left him hollow and just as dark as the clothes he wore. 

At his coming of age, Lan WangJi had taken the mantle of ZeWu-Jun’s right hand man and he took the position with unsurpassed skill and the steel of his sword. He would go on to become the most feared agent GusuLan had ever had and his name would pass through the night on nervous whispers. People lived in terror that he would come for them in the dark, that the Shadow of GusuLan would come in on the wind and slit their throats before they even knew he was there. 

Lan XiChen sighed again as he pulled over a shipping log for the huge freighter that would dock in the harbor with 2,000 pounds of smuggled heroin from the Chessmen in London. He hated what this life had turned his brother into. He hated what this cruel existence had done to the life and love and happiness his little brother used to have, so brilliant and vibrant in his beautiful golden eyes. 

But they were trapped in this underworld, tied to it, irrevocably entangled in this hell that left them floating in crime and blood and death. What he would give to save his brother, to save himself from it but life wasn’t fair, was it? You took the hand you were dealt and prayed fate would be merciful to you in the end, if there was such a thing as fate. 

XiChen pulled himself out of his melancholy thoughts as he set out his work, what fate was it to be damned like this, to be trapped in this madness where profit and success hinged on the torture and death of so many others?

He didn’t know and just like his younger brother, he had long ago stopped caring. This life killed you slowly, suffocated you, squeezed out the sunlight and left you in nothing but shades of black and grey and red. 

~*~

Lan WangJi tilted his head a little as the figure inside the apartment sat completely still, not a hair out of place, not a gesture, not a movement, not a turn of his head. He sat there in the darkness and it was only the sliver of that harvest moon that showed his form and his long red ribbon. 

He slipped past the balcony door silent as a shadow as he walked forward towards his victim, one step then two, then three as he unsheathed his sword. He was as quiet as the silence that surrounded him in the darkness of that apartment. 

He reached his target and swung his sword around to press against his neck firmly, no mercy in his hand. This was his life, dealing death and judgment to whoever his brother wanted to kill and nothing else mattered. There was nothing else in his grey life. There were no hopes, no dreams left inside him anymore, nothing but cold, hollow emptiness where his heart should have been.

He didn’t care who this person was, he didn’t concern himself with what he looked like or what crime he had committed. It didn’t matter anyway, nothing mattered anymore. 

“Any last words?” 

He spoke softly into the silence of the apartment as he pressed his sword into his target’s throat and he noticed something odd in that moment, this man smelled…..good, something heady and smoky like bonfires, his long hair suffusing his nose with this strangely alluring scent. It was a scent that called to him, that teased him with some long ago forgotten memory that he couldn’t quite remember. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully before he ignored it. It didn’t matter, the alluring fragrance of a dead man would hold no sway over him. 

The man in the chair didn’t flinch, he didn’t move at all for a long while, so long in fact, WangJi was going to slit his throat and be done with it, the scent of bonfires be damned when he heard him for the first time. 

The man spoke softly, his voice falling past his lips so deep and low it was almost a whisper, “your payment is on the table”

Lan WangJi paused with a blink, those words echoing in his ear. He frowned and pulled his sword back struck with confusion and odd curiosity. What man would hire an assassin to kill himself? What man would pay thousands of dollars to have the Shadow himself slit his throat?

He had to know and against his better judgement, he walked around the chair to see the face of this strange man. He looked at him then, his eyes catching on the thin red line his sword had left behind on the pale skin of his throat before trailing up to notice the gentle curve of his jaw and his lips, a color that looked like a dusty rose at sunset with a seductive curve to his mouth. He moved up along the elegant bridge of his nose to meet a pair of big grey eyes and he paused there for a moment as they sucked the air right out of his lungs.

They were unfathomable, deep and endless, a grey the color of rain, the color of storm clouds. And they were beautiful. 

Lan WangJi stared into the eyes that stared back at him at a loss and he was suddenly trapped by those eyes, called in by them until he felt as though he were drowning, as though he were floating in some strange reality where nothing existed but those beautiful sad eyes and his dead heart pounded in his veins as they looked at each other. 

Those grey eyes were so dark, so full of pain and heartache, devastation in every corner of that gaze as he looked at the man who was there to take his life. He said nothing and neither did Lan WangJi and for an eternity they fell into each other, grey eyes to gold and back again in an unending loop. 

And madness rose up in Lan Zhan, it stole his reason and tossed him into insanity as he slipped his mask down and leaned in to kiss that beautiful, strange man. He couldn’t tell you why he did it, he couldn’t fathom himself in that moment as something magnetic called him forward, deeper and deeper into those eyes. 

And the stranger kissed him back and there was nothing tentative in their kiss, nothing shy, nothing nervous. They kissed each other as if they had been lovers for years, as if they had kissed a hundred times, a thousand times before, as if they had long ago learned the shape of each other’s mouths. 

Lan Zhan kissed him deeply, sliding his tongue into the stranger’s mouth to caress him, to rub against him and suck and flick and lick as his target looped his arms around his neck holding him close, letting himself be devoured by his assassin.

“Mm….” he moaned into that hot mouth on his and Lan Zhan slipped his hands around his waist and hauled him up in his arms pulling him against his body with a tenderness he didn’t know he had. And they stood there in that darkened apartment kissing and kissing until they grew short of breath, lightheaded and muddled by this curious spell the harvest moon had woven around them as it drifted in through the glass balcony doors. 

Lan WangJi was gone, he was lost to these passionate kisses, his nose full of bonfires and his head full of nothing but need, need to save this man from himself, need to kiss him until they suffocated together, until they drowned under this undeniable attraction they had for each other. 

He felt a rush through his chest, something powerful and profound, some vague sense of familiarity catching hold of the barest edge of his awareness. Those lips tasted as sweet as he remembered them and he had no clarity of thought to wonder how he could remember the feel of the mouth of a man he had never kissed before. 

He tilted his head and delved deeply into that warm, heady mouth swallowing his breathy moan, so low and rich it tripped down his spine leaving him almost shivering and he felt something wet on his cheeks. One drop then two then three and he pulled back to see those beautiful grey eyes framed by the longest lashes he had ever seen on a man or a woman, those lashes that glittered with tiny, delicate tears that fell one by one onto his pale skin and he whispered into the space between them, “what is your name?”

The stranger looked back at him with hazy eyes so full of desolate sorrow. He considered the man in front of him for a long, silent moment before he sighed out softly. 

“My name is Wei WuXian…..Wei…..Ying…and yours Shadow?”

“Lan Zhan…” he whispered back, unwillingly to consider the implications of that confession. He had never told anyone his birth name, and he would not spare a thought to consider that when he could fill his thoughts and his hands with Wei WuXian instead. 

Lan WangJi lifted his fingers and cupped his delicate jaw, his calloused thumb moving over his pale skin to wipe away that trail of tears but they continued to fall, tracking long lines across his cheeks and he kissed him again. He kissed him sweetly, delicately, deeply, suffusing his senses with everything that was Wei Ying. 

He kissed him until he couldn’t think straight, kissed him until he couldn’t tell up from down, those tears wet on his fingers and that mouth sweet under his. He pulled back after another long while and spied a bed laying in the far corner of the room. He scooped up his would be target in his arms like a bride, like something precious and kissed him again, simply unable to resist him, unable to say no to those lips that were swollen and red now. 

Wei Ying was pliant and soft against him and he seemed so small and delicate like the weight of the world had diminished him somehow and it pulled up a powerful desire in Lan Zhan’s dead heart. A powerful, powerful need to protect him, to shield him from whatever left those gorgeous eyes so full of tears. 

And it felt…..right somehow, like he was made to fit in his arms, like his mouth was designed just for him, his body crafted as a perfect pair to his own. 

He walked them to the bed and laid him down on it softly maintaining their never ending kiss as Wei WuXian moaned again into his mouth and it vibrated against his tongue with that soft, low voice. He slipped up onto the bed to kneel over his body, his knees bracketing Wei Ying’s hips and he tugged at Wei WuXian’s black shirt.

He slipped it over his head, breaking their kiss to look at the body of the man under him. It was criss crossed with roughly tied bandages that were soaked through with blood. The wraps covered his chest and trailed around his waist, another hastily tied around his upper arm and he lifted his hand to caress the red bandage right over his ribs. 

“What happened?” He asked with his low baritone and Wei Ying tilted his head. He stayed quiet for a long time just looking into those breathtaking golden eyes above him but Lan Zhan waited patiently. He waited and he realized dimly, he would wait a lifetime for this man and he couldn’t understand that. It made no sense but he knew it as truth all the same. The silence stretched on and on until Wei Ying looked away from him. 

“What does it matter….” he muttered turning his face away but WangJi laid his palm against his cheek and pulled gently to look at those big grey eyes again. 

“Tell me?” He asked with a pleading note in his tone, his voice as soft as a whisper and Wei WuXian glanced back at him. 

“A fight with my brother…” he trailed off looking away again, unwilling to speak more and Lan Zhan asked again, “your brother did this?” He gestured to the mess of bloody wraps with a tilt to his head.

“I deserved it….” Wei WuXian mumbled towards the wall and WangJi’s eyebrows knit together. 

“I doubt that…”

He spoke calmly. He didn’t know how he knew but he did. He knew with certainty that this man who cried so delicately, who kissed him so passionately, who’s arms had trembled around his neck, did not deserve the ugly wounds that littered his body. 

He turned Wei Ying’s face to him again and kissed him lightly before he leaned back. He shoved his hand into one of the many pockets on his pants and tugged out a thick roll of gauze and a faded red pouch. 

He slipped a knife from a sheath at the small of his back and started to carefully cut the crude bandages off when Wei Ying stopped him with a hand on his chest, he looked up into those unreadable golden eyes and spoke with a hoarse voice, “don’t bother, I’m a dead man anyway…” 

Lan Zhan stared at him for a long moment before he broke their gaze and settled back into his task. He meticulously removed all those bloody wraps to see four deep cuts on his body before he tugged a surgical needle and thread and a little bottle of alcohol from another pocket in his cargo pants. He poured it on those angry wounds and Wei Ying hissed sharply but he didn’t say anything laying still under those broad calloused hands. 

WangJi snagged a thick pile of dried herbs from that old pouch and offered it to Wei Ying, “chew it,” he ordered and Wei WuXian did as he was told, the Yarrow plants filling his mouth with a bitter taste as he watched this stranger tend to him. It was such an odd situation to find himself in. What assassin would treat his target? What man would patch up the person he was going to kill? What man would….. kiss him….. that way?

But he laid there submissive and quiet, chewing on his herbs and he was oddly surprised to feel some small measure of relief from the throbbing, aching wounds on his body as Lan Zhan skillfully and carefully stitched up the four wounds on his torso and the one on his arm.

He looked up from his work and held out his hand, “spit it out,” he ordered calmly and Wei Ying did, the Yarrow leaves mushy and wet like a paste. Lan Zhan gently applied it to the cuts before he set about wrapping fresh gauze around and around his body pulling it tight to apply pressure to the wounds. 

He turned then and cleaned up all the odds and ends sliding everything back into the myriad of pockets his cargo pants held before he leaned in and stole another kiss. There was something magnetic about Wei Ying’s lips and he simply could not seem to leave them for long. It was absurd, ridiculous even to feel so deeply, to feel at all, to feel something throb in his chest, to realize the empty, worn out husky of his black heart had the ability to beat once more for some stranger he met in the middle of the night who wore a long red ribbon in his black hair.

Lan Zhan kissed those soft lips, slanting his mouth to deepen it, to trail their tongues together, his hand coming up to caress Wei Ying’s cheek delicately, affectionately. He slid those light fingers along his skin with a tenderness that welled up from the depths of his soul. 

How he could feel this way was a shock, a profound one. He had long ago lost his heart to the hell of the life he lived, it had died in his chest the night of his very first mission when he had killed a girl of 16, a blond young woman with green eyes no older than himself, her hot blood spraying across his pale face and the thick cloying scent of old iron, of copper filling his nose. He would never forget that girl, not for as long as he lived. 

He swept his tongue along Wei Ying’s mouth and he filled his senses with the smell of bonfires. Wei WuXian’s scent was rich and smoky, heady and it called forth memories of a warmth he had never felt in this life, of the warmth of a long, lean body laying in his arms, of those thick black locks tickling his nose. These flickers of odd memories teased the very edges of his mind but he could not think about them.

He could think of nothing with that sweet mouth under his, those firm arms around his neck once more and that soft, low moan against his tongue. After an eon of those slow, passionate kisses, he finally leaned back again. He glanced down into those big grey eyes that had taken on a hazy quality, that desperate sorrow blurred with unreadable emotions under his long lashes. There was so much in Wei Ying’s eyes, so much Lan Zhan wanted to know, so much he wanted to understand, he craved to know more, his cold, empty heart throbbing against his rib cage. It felt heavy there in his chest, as he became aware of it for the first time. 

He realized as he stared into Wei Ying’s unfathomable eyes that this man, this stranger made that dead thing inside him beat and thump and burn with emotions he had never felt before. His heart ached with desire to protect this man, with the urge to steal the pain that darkened those grey eyes. He shook his head out of his private thoughts and left one last lingering kiss on Wei Ying’s lips before he slipped lower over his body. 

He moved his fingers to unbutton Wei WuXian’s black jeans. He slipped his pants and underwear off his long legs before he stopped as he saw thick, corded scars on the insides of his thighs, the kind made by a knife and he glanced up again to meet those unfathomable grey eyes. 

“Did you do this?” 

He asked as he trailed light fingertips across those ridges that lay in a criss crossing pattern over the main artery between his pale legs and Wei Ying answered him after a long, lingering pause, “you are not the first way I tried to die….”

Lan Zhan leaned down and kissed the first scar. There were six, three on his right thigh and three on his left and he laved it with his tongue. He dragged over it sucking and kissing and licking it before he moved to the second one then the third. He spent a long, long time there between his legs kissing and caressing the thick skin with his mouth, so long in fact Wei Ying moaned another breathy sigh into the dark apartment. 

It was a heady, hoarse sound and it collected deep in WangJi’s belly starting a low heat at the base of his spine and he felt himself thicken in his black pants. He leaned up again letting his hands caress those swollen scars, they were pink now from his attentions and they looked alluring on those long pale legs, an erotic reflection of Wei Ying's broken heart, a heart just as damaged as the one that sat throbbing in his chest.

He tugged his black turtleneck over his head as Wei Ying watched him with those big grey eyes and he spoke hoarsely, “why did you kiss me?”

WangJi tossed his shirt to the floor looking back into those beautiful eyes with calm conviction, “because I’m going to make love to you…”

“......are you……” Wei Ying trailed off with a tilt of his head, those grey eyes staring into his and Lan Zhan nodded, “Mn”

He slipped his hand into one of the many pockets on his cargo pants and pulled out a small bottle of oil. It was a natural, plant based one and he used it to clean his sword but it would do for tonight. 

He considered the man under him for a moment as he wondered how to do this without hurting him more. He must be in pain, his body sore and tender but Wei Ying curled his finger beckoning him forward. 

“Don’t worry about it, I don’t care if it hurts….so kiss me Lan Zhan, make love to me….”

And Lan WangJi went willingly. He leaned forward bracing his hands around We WuXian’s body to avoid touching all those wounds and he kissed him again. He kissed him deeply, passionately, possessively and he groaned this time when Wei Ying wrapped his arms around his neck again and pulled him down so his heavy body lay flush to his own as they shared another kiss, this one going on and on and on.

~*~

“WEI WUXIAN?! What the fuck are you doing here?!” Jiang Cheng snarled as his older brother walked through the warehouse door of the headquarters for the YunmengJiang Gang. He stared at him in judgement, hatred crackling in his hard blue eyes.

“Haven’t you done enough YiLing Laozu?! Haven’t you killed enough? How dare you walk in here after what you’ve done?!” He barked with anger radiating off him. 

“I’m here to answer for---” Wei WuXian started solemnly when Jiang Cheng snorted with a cynical laugh.

“You can NEVER ANSWER FOR THE MURDERS OF MOTHER AND FATHER, OF A-JIE AND JIN ZIXUAN! HOW DARE YOU WALK IN HERE YOU PIECE OF SHIT, YOU’RE LUCKY I DON’T KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND!”

“So kill me….” Wei Ying tilted his head as he met those angry blue eyes, his own cold and indifferent, dark and unreadable as he faced his brother. 

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Jiang Cheng laughed, he laughed so hard he doubled over with hysterical, almost crazed laughter, “Hell no you dog, you fucking demon, you’re going to live and you’re going to regret for the rest of your pathetic life. I hope you dream of A-Jie, I hope you see her die a thousands times, you miserable wretch, get the fuck out of here, no one will kill you Wei WuXian, no one will sully their hands with a fucking traitor like you...”

“Shid--” Wei Ying tried to speak, his voice hoarse with emotion but Jiang Cheng cut him off venomously, “DON’T FUCKING CALL ME THAT, YOU’RE NO BROTHER OF MINE, YOU MURDERER! WHO TOOK YOU IN WHEN YOU WERE A SNIVELLING BRAT? WHO FED YOU?! CLOTHED YOU?! RAISED YOU?! HOW DARE YOU CALL ME THAT?! HAHA YOU HAVE NO SHAME WEI WUXIAN, NONE AT ALL, HOW DARE YOU HAVE A FACE SO THICK?!”

Wei WuXian stared across the concrete floor of the warehouse as Jiang Cheng glared at him with so much hatred, as though he could kill him with a look alone and Wei Ying narrowed his eyes. He snatched a pair of daggers from the sheaths that sat at his lower back and lunged forward like lightning, so fast all you could see was the glint of the afternoon sun on his blades. 

Jiang Cheng threw himself backwards as they sliced through the air right in front of his nose and he tore his knives loose. He spun out of the way with a pivot and blocked a downward swing, the blades glancing off each other as Wei Ying came for him with speed and skill that lent depth to the chilling reputation of the YiLing Laozu, his once right hand man. 

He spun back out of the way as Wei WuXian slashed at him cutting a deep line into his upper arm and he snarled, “here to kill off the rest of your family you demon?!”

He skipped out of the way as a feral grin took over his face, “fine then! Come on you dog, I’ll teach you just what happens to a traitor of mine!”

He threw himself forward fast lunging close to slash across Wei Ying’s abdomen slicing through his red shirt, blood splashing across the concrete before he yanked his body out of the way of another heavy handed strike. 

He blocked it quickly and turned in a backwards spin avoiding the second blade. He used his momentum to slam his dagger into his shixiong’s upper arm and he tore through it leaving another gaping wound behind. 

They danced around each other quick and fast like cats, their knives glinting and clanging as they fought. Jiang Cheng dodged another slash before he ripped his left blade down Wei Ying’s chest at an angle tearing open a bloody hole in his chest. 

Wei Ying tried to lunge back out of the way but there was no heart in the dodge. He didn’t start this fight to win, he started it to lose and Jiang Cheng realized that just as he rent another ugly cut across his older brother’s body. 

Wei WuXian outclassed him in speed, in strength and in skill, there was no way he would take so many wounds if not on purpose and Jiang Cheng pulled back out of the way of a side swipe and pivoted on his foot, fury boiling through him as he realized exactly what Wei Ying wanted and he would not give him that. 

He snapped his leg out hard slamming into his shixiong’s solar plexus and throwing him across the open room. He hit the concrete wall hard, coughing immediately as blood trickled past his dry lips. 

He fell to his knees wheezing, trying to get air into his lungs and Jiang Cheng marched over to him. He kicked him hard in the chest again before he leaned down and yanked his face up to look into his eyes. 

He stared at those grey eyes he knew so well, the eyes of the brother he respected, the man he modeled himself after, the older brother who had always protected him and guided him, the man he loved like family and his lips twisted in anger. 

How could things have gone so wrong between them? How could Wei WuXian betray them like this, betray him like this? Weren’t they brothers? Weren’t they family? How could….

Jiang Cheng’s blue eyes narrowed in hatred. He sneered at his shixiong and spit in his face, his voice tumbling out of him with rage and fury and heartache. 

“I will not kill you Wei WuXian….I am not like you, I do not kill my family…..so get the fuck out of here. I condemn you Wei WuXian, I condemn you to hell for the rest of your life…”

~*~

Lan Zhan nipped his lip hard pulling him out of his memories and Wei Ying gasped. 

“Don’t leave Wei Ying, be here, stay here with me…” WangJi told him as he slipped his hand between their bodies to tug on his shaft. It was soft against his body under the weight of his thoughts and he shivered as Lan Zhan’s broad hand stroked him up from the base and down and up again working him into heat, pulling him into lust and desire and he leaned in to kiss him again. 

“Keep your eyes on me Wei Ying,” he whispered against those swollen red lips and Wei WuXian had no choice but to do as those golden eyes commanded. He stared up at him as they kissed again and those eyes were amber in the dim glow of the room, the only light that of the great harvest moon filtering into the apartment.

They stared at each other then as their tongues rubbed together, sliding and caressing each other and Wei Ying felt himself thicken up in that firm hand as Lan WangJi stole his thoughts and turned his mind upside down. 

He slipped down their bodies pulling away from those seductive lips to settle his mouth on that hard cock. He licked across the tip shivering when Wei Ying moaned heavily and he sucked that thick head almost immediately just to hear that low groan again. 

He pumped his mouth over it, sliding all the way down it until it nudged the back of his throat before he hollowed out his cheeks and dedicated himself to the act. He bobbed his head with sucking pulls as that breathy voice slid over his ears like velvet. 

“Haa…..ahhhh…..m.mmm…….mmmnnnnn…….aaaannnnnn…….” Wei Ying canted his hips up with gentle bucks to fuck Lan Zhan’s mouth slowly enjoying the sensations he had never felt before. Truth be told, he had never done any of this with anyone. He had never kissed another, never touched another, never lost himself in pleasure and he shoved every haunting memory out of his mind. 

He would let this gorgeous man drown him in passion. He would forget his shijie’s bloody face, his shidi’s blue eyed hatred, he would forget the deaths of his family, the deaths he had caused, the deaths he had been responsible for with his stupid mistakes. It didn’t matter that he had never intended it, it didn’t matter that it had been an accident. It was all his fault and for tonight, for one single night, he would lose himself in this man he had paid for, in the arms of the man he had paid to kill him. 

How fitting he should give his body to his murderer, how fitting he would find comfort and affection in the man who would take his life when they were done. Wei Ying almost laughed at how ironic it was to find pleasure in the arms of his killer, no more and no less than he deserved. 

Lan Zhan sucked steadily up and down as he snagged the bottle of oil from the bed, he popped the cap with one hand and poured it onto his fingers before he let them trail down between those long legs. He slipped between his cheeks to caress his hole with warm circles, his mouth moving rhythmically along the shaft against his tongue. 

He would turn Wei Ying’s head. He would fill him and distract him, he would take him until he could think of nothing else, until he saw nothing else but him. He nudged one long finger against that tight puckered ring of his entrance before pulling back only to do it again. He pressed and teased that little hole before he pushed firmly, until it gave and swallowed him up. He pumped his hand then, in and out and in and out in time to his mouth as he sucked Wei Ying’s shaft over and over and in and out and up and down. 

“HA?! MMmmm…” Wei Ying gasped as he felt it, he felt that long finger push into him and it felt odd but he didn’t care. His cock felt so good in Lan Zhan’s mouth, that tongue fluttering against the large vein underneath. 

WangJi spent a long, long time fingering him this way, warming that little hole up as Wei WuXian groaned and gasped and moaned, his hips rising and falling into that hot mouth on his shaft. He tossed his head, his breathing growing ragged when Lan Zhan pushed another finger inside him and it felt strange and yet good. The pleasure on his shaft spiraling with that odd stretch as his killer fondled him and fingered him and touched and sucked him. 

How he could fall this way into the arms of a stranger, Wei WuXian didn’t know. He had been so ready to die, so ready to leave the wretched misery of his regrets and yet instead of the kiss of the blade across his throat he had taken the kiss of a man across his lips and it was intoxicating. 

Those golden eyes burned his own, piercing and endless. They were amber and dark, heavy with his own weight. They were unreadable to him. He could not understand what he saw in Lan Zhan’s eyes. He did not know what to think about this tall, handsome man who seemed so vaguely familiar. He didn’t know why he was touching him, why he was so passionately devouring him. 

Who did something so insane? Who would take their target to bed? Who would sleep with the man they were about to kill? Wei Ying didn’t know, all he knew, all he could understand was that he craved this. He craved his tender kisses, he craved his affection and his gentle hands that felt so strange and yet there was something so…...familiar about it. Like he had felt his touch before, like he had kissed him and touched him just like this. He didn’t know and he didn’t understand, all he wanted was to make love to him, all he wanted was to feel that tenderness in Lan Zhan’s hands as he treated him like a lover, like he had value, like he mattered even though he knew he didn’t. 

He was worthless, he was nothing. He didn’t deserve to be loved. He didn’t deserve anything from anyone. He was a murderer, he was a killer, he had caused the deaths of everyone he loved, everyone he cherished. Jiang Cheng didn’t need to die to be dead to him too, so thoroughly cut out of his life. 

He needed and he wanted and he loathed his selfishness but for one night, for one single night he would wrap the affection of the GusuLan’s black Shadow around him. He would give his heart to this stranger and after they had become as close as two people ever could he would offer him his life and that, Wei WuXian decided was a much better way to die than he deserved. 

He shivered and moaned when those long fingers stretched inside him and he relaxed his body for his assassin. He would take him, he would take his passion, his lust and trick his heart into believing it was love. 

He was so starved for it, so parched for the smallest measure of comfort and he loved Lan Zhan that night. He fell in love with him for no other reason than he was the only person to treat him so delicately, to kiss him so deeply, to possess him this way. 

Lan Zhan slowed his mouth on that thick cock against his tongue and lifted up to lean back and kneel between those long legs. He looked at Wei Ying then, stared at him really. He was so sexy there, his long hair thrown across the pillows like spilled ink, that red ribbon cutting a bold line across his black locks like a trail of blood, so stark against the thin white blanket underneath them. His cheeks were flushed prettily and those big grey eyes were hazy with need, profound and dark, the grey like rolling clouds of thunder. Those dusty pink lips were red and swollen, open around his panting breath. His battered chest was heaving up and down rapidly and WangJi would not resist kissing him one more time. 

He dropped his mouth to those sinfully red lips and slid his tongue in to lave the one against his. He licked and flicked and devoured him there as passion and lust and odd affection overwhelmed him. He realized then that he wanted this broken man, he desired him more than he had ever wanted anyone or anything before. 

He craved him like water to a dying flower, like air to a drowning man. He was caught and ensnared, chained to those big grey eyes and he popped the button on his cargoes. He slipped his hand in to tug his long, hard cock out and he snagged that vial of oil and upended it, dumping the rest on himself before he gave in to this ridiculous attraction. 

He didn’t understand it, he couldn’t. He couldn’t even think at this point, his body taking over as reason and sense left him behind in the dust. His heart was beating hard in his chest, almost hurting as emotions he hadn’t felt in years stole over him. He needed, he wanted and he would have him. He would take him and he would keep him. He would keep this man for himself. 

For the first time in his life, he would be selfish, the black Shadow of GusuLan would take something for his very own and damn their organization, damn his brother, damn this life that sought to take everything from him. This man, Wei Ying set a fire burning in his chest that had nothing to do with lust and everything to do with…. love of all things. Love, he almost wanted to laugh, a cynical, jaded laugh. Had he ever felt love for another? He didn’t even know what love was but he knew he felt something profound for this stranger in his bed and he shifted closer to press his hard shaft against that warm pink entrance of Wei WuXian’s body. 

He nudged it and pushed. He pressed and rolled his hips until he popped past that tight ring and Wei Ying hissed, his lashes fluttering closed as he grimaced in pain. WangJi stopped at once but his lover tossed his head and whispered, “don’t stop my Lan Zhan, take me, please…..” his words rife with double meaning. There was so much desperation in his plea, so much need and desire for more than sex and WangJi sunk a little deeper inside him. 

He eased himself all the way in until he hilted and he paused there panting hard as he let Wei WuXian adjust to it with a low gasp. Wei Ying willed and forced his body to relax, to take this man he loved, the man he had fallen in love with after just one single kiss.

He tossed his head wincing at the unimaginable stretch. Lan Zhan felt huge inside him, heavy and thick and his silted huff turned into a low groan when that calloused hand settled on his cock that had wilted a little with the pain. 

He pumped his hand on it again, up and down a little erratically as he fought to keep a hold of himself. Wei WuXian was so tight, so hot, it was so fucking hot inside him and he pulsed his hips a little trying desperately to stop but he couldn’t help it. It felt so good. 

“.....j…...ju…...mmm…..huf…..just…..do…..do….it…….huff….La…..n…..Lan….Zhahh….n…” Wei Ying groaned out as he glanced up through his lashes to look at the magnificent man above him. Lan WangJi was gorgeous. His black bangs framing his flushed cheeks, his red mouth panting and kiss swollen, his golden eyes amber with powerful lust. He looked sexy there on his knees between his legs.

He nodded his head jerkily and tugged back out slowly before canting his hips back in, his hand moving steadily over Wei WuXian’s cock to distract him and Wei Ying groaned as pain and pleasure spiraled through him. Lan Zhan set a gentle rhythm, in and back out and in again before tugging back out only to roll forward in deep before pulling back over and over he kept up this slow pace and Wei Ying couldn’t handle that. 

He couldn’t take this love making, take this tenderness and tears beaded on his long lashes as Lan Zhan’s affection overwhelmed him again. He wanted it so badly but he didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve to be treated gently, to be treasured and he gasped out.

“fu….huff…...fuck…..me…….mmm…...ha…..haaa…...rder!” 

And that was the last straw for Lan WangJi, he slipped his arms under his thighs to hook his knees with his elbows and spread those long legs wide as he yanked his hips back and slammed them forward deeper than before and Wei Ying cried out, louder and sexier than before, the breathy pain in his voice gone as pleasure stole into his moan. 

“HAAANNNNNMMMMMHAAAAAAAAAAA…...AAHHHHH?!”

Lan Zhan repeated the motion, pulling his body back before snapping his hips forward to smack his ass with the thrust and Wei WuXian fell apart under him when he slammed into something soft and sensitive inside him. 

“FU….FUCK….huff…….RI….RIGHT…..MMMM...TH…...THERE…...HAAAANNN!” He gasped out and WangJi obliged him, he rammed his cock straight into that angle and he gritted his teeth against his ending. Wei Ying was gasping and groaning, crying out with a loud, hoarse voice that rolled down his back and burned him straight through. 

He was hot, so unbelievably sexy there under him, writhing and arching his body into every bucking thrust Lan Zhan gave him as he fucked him into the bed. The stitches pulling tight as they fucked, blood starting to seep into the white bandages around his body but WangJi wouldn’t stop now. 

He pounded into him, the sounds of sex loud in that dark apartment and he groaned heavily when that hole tightened around him, it grew tighter and tighter to suck him up when he pushed in and drag against his shaft when he pulled back out only to swallow him whole when he threw his hips forward again. He forced his way into that clutching entrance over and over as Wei Ying’s voice grew louder and louder. He forced his grey eyes open to stare at his murderer and Lan WangJi looked wrecked and wild above him. 

There was a sheen of sweat on his flushed chest, his hair sticking to his cheeks as he pumped his hips hard and fast into his body, his pale skin pink with exertion and sex. His breath was hard and fast past his wet lips and Wei Ying let his teary eyes fall closed as his release pulled so tight within him it snapped. It snapped deep within his abdomen and he came with a hoarse cry, “ANNNNNNNNNNNGHHHHHHHH!!”

He came so hard his waist arched up and his shoulders curved into the bed as he tossed his head back, his vision growing dark as he lost touch with reality, the rush of his ending throwing him under as he ripped Lan Zhan’s release from him. 

Lan WangJi could not resist the sucking pull of his lover’s body and he buried himself as deeply as he could inside Wei Ying and groaned long and low as his ending tore through him. It rolled up his body from his curling toes along his taut legs and up his spine, every muscle he had pulled so tight as he emptied himself, as he gave Wei WuXian all he had to give. 

“MMMMMMNNNNNNNN”

They froze there as their pleasures exploded over them and after an eon they fell back into their bodies exhausted and spent. Lan Zhan tugged slowly out of his Wei Ying and flopped down on the bed next to him as he huffed and panted erratically trying to work his body down as tingles and shivers drifted up and down his nerve endings. 

A heavy, warm glow settled around them as Wei Ying turned his head to look at the beautiful man next to him with tired eyes. He stared into the hazy golden eyes that stared back at him and he felt his heart ache in his chest. It was over. Their torrid love affair was over and reality settled back over him. He would die now. He would let this assassin take his life and in that brief span of time, he thought to himself that it wouldn’t be so bad to die, to die this way with the glow Lan Zhan had left in him. 

He started as that broad calloused hand lifted up to caress his cheek and he realized with foggy awareness that he was crying, long trails of salty wet tears dripping down his cheeks and he looked down from Lan Zhan’s incredible golden gaze. 

“Why are you crying Wei Ying?” He asked him softly and Wei WuXian cast his eyes off the side. He wasn’t willing to answer him, he didn’t want to, he didn’t want to put his heartache into words but his voice tumbled out despite him. 

“Thank you Lan Zhan……..for tonight…..I…...I…. killed everyone I care about and I have nothing else now…..nothing to love, no one to protect….I am ready…..take my life….please….”

Lan WangJi tilted his head considering him, for a long while he stared into the eyes that stared back at him and after an eternity of silence he spoke softly.

“If you have no one to love then…. love me Wei Ying…..” Lan WangJi wiped another tear off those flushed cheeks and Wei WuXian looked up at him from under his wet lashes. 

“What?”

“Love me…….and I will love you,” he whispered as he leaned in and gave him the gentlest and most delicate kiss. 

“Bu…..but….I…..”

“Just say yes Wei Ying…..” he spoke softly against those swollen red lips and Wei WuXian trembled. He blinked his grey eyes as regret stole over him. He could not do that. He could not fathom Lan Zhan’s love. How could he? How could he ever deserve something like that? He was a traitor, a murderer, he had killed his family and abandoned his brother. 

“Stop thinking so hard,” Lan Zhan kissed him again, “I will not kill you and no one ever will, you are mine Wei Ying, I will keep you and I will treasure you”

“How can you say that, you don’t know what I have done….” Wei WuXian mumbled torn in half by those words. How could someone want him? He was trash, he was worthless, he was---

“You are no worse than I am, I have killed hundreds and hundreds of people, I am the black Shadow Wei Ying, I come for people in the dark of the night and slit their throats. I don’t care if they are innocent, I don’t care if they are young or old but you…..you are good, I can see it in your eyes and I will keep you for my own, be mine Wei Ying…” he trailed off as he tilted his head and Wei WuXian wilted. 

He had nothing to say to that, he had no words to refute him. Perhaps they were a match made in hell but he would not deny Lan Zhan. He loved him as insane as it seemed to fall for someone so quickly and he surrendered himself to his passionate kisses, surrendered his body to his lover who felt so vaguely familiar as the Shadow of GusuLan took him again. 

He let Lan Zhan make love to him until dawn kissed the tips of the skyscrapers that made up Gusu City, he let his Lan Zhan take him over and over until he lost the threads of his thoughts, until he lost his consciousness on that bed under his relentless thrusts. 

~*~

Lan WangJi laid there on his side next to his lover as the twilight of dawn drifted into the empty apartment casting the room in purples and greys and he let his hand caress Wei Ying’s pale cheek. He had finally succumbed to exhaustion falling asleep right there under him. 

He nuzzled him affectionately before he snagged his pants from the floor and dressed himself until he was once again the Shadow of GusuLan. He gently lifted his lover up in his arms and carried him over to the bathroom where he washed his long body tenderly before he wrapped fresh bandages and herbs tight around his wounds. Then he took him back to the bed and tucked him under that threadbare white blanket before he picked up his sword from the floor. He strapped it across his back with finality as he trailed his golden eyes over the body of the man he loved, the man he had fallen in love with after just one look into his beautiful grey eyes.

He could not stay, he was the Shadow of GusuLan, he was an assassin, he was ZeWu-Jun’s right hand man and he turned to the balcony doors before he paused. He glanced over his shoulder considering Wei WuXian again. 

He had meant what he said during the long hours of their lovemaking, he wanted him and he would keep him and he turned back to the bed. He walked forward with slow, sure steps as he slipped the white ribbon off his forehead.

He gazed at it for a moment as he remembered his uncle’s stern voice, _“WangJi you are now and will forever be a Lan, you are bound to this ribbon, let it teach you discipline and restraint, let it guide you and control your impulses. You may never remove this band WangJi, never, for no one, not even your beloved should you ever have one. You are the Shadow of GusuLan and that is what you will always be, do I make myself clear?”_

He stared down at the white ribbon in his hand, he stared and stared at the band he had worn on his forehead for as long as he could remember and he tilted his head glancing up at Wei WuXian. He would always be his brother’s shadow, he would always steal through the night slitting throats on ZeWu-Jun’s command but he would be selfish in this moment. 

He would take Wei Ying for his own and nothing and no one would stop him. He walked the last few steps to the bed again and looped that white satin band around Wei WuXian’s wrist. He wrapped that long, binding ribbon around and around and around before he tied it off, a silent promise that he would find him again. A promise that Wei Ying belonged to him now and nothing would change that. 

He would keep this broken man for his own and he would kill anyone who sought to harm him, no one would take his Wei Ying from him not now, not ever. He carded his fingers tenderly through those messy black bangs before he tugged that long red ribbon out of his thick hair and slipped it into his pocket, binding himself to the man he was supposed to kill, tying them together for always.

He laid one last kiss to that seductive mouth and he stayed there for a while, letting the scent of bonfires fill his nose, a scent far too familiar for one night of passion and he did linger too long as the twilight grew lighter around them beckoning him away. 

He stood straight again and adjusted his mask, tugging it up to cover his swollen red lips and pale nose before he plaited his braid into some semblance of order. He left then on the wind, silent as a shadow with his silver sword on his back and one last glance over his shoulder. 

~*~

Wei Ying shifted in the blankets as he blinked his grey eyes awake. He glanced around his empty apartment hazily before last night hit him like lightning, those golden eyes, those tender hands, those passionate kisses, those relentless thrusts and hoarse groans and he looked around again but like he expected Lan Zhan was gone. 

He shifted to sit up, wincing as his stitches pulled tight and he looked down noticing the long white ribbon wrapped around his wrist. He trailed his fingers along it gently, he had seen it the night before, too wrapped up in those arms to really think about it but now he wondered. He wondered why the band Lan Zhan refused to take off was tied neatly on his arm.

Even in their headiest moments, that white forehead ribbon had stayed and Wei Ying remembered vaguely that it was a sign of the GusuLan but other than that he didn’t know much else. And yet as he sat there wearing nothing but bandages and Lan Zhan’s ribbon, he knew it meant something profound. He knew it almost instinctively, though how he knew he couldn’t tell you and he settled his hand over the satin around his wrist. 

He looked down at it as the sun rose fully over Gusu City filling his plain, empty apartment with warmth and light. Perhaps he didn’t need to die today, perhaps he could survive just one more night, he thought pensively. After all, his Lan Zhan could always kill him tomorrow when he came back for his ribbon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read a Twitter thread about this concept and I wish I could link it here for you to see but I cannot find it TT_TT *EDIT* SOME AMAZING PERSON FOUND THE THREAD!! Thank you @cloudbabywangji for the inspiration ❤
> 
> https://twitter.com/cloudbabywangji/status/1308338583720341505?s=19
> 
> anyway I hope you enjoyed this angsty love and I'd love to see your comments, concerns, kudos or whatever~
> 
> Thanks for reading ❤❤❤


	2. Chapter 2

“Boss, YunmengJiang’s back,” Lan Hao reported quietly from his place by the door as he bowed his head in respect. 

“Are they….” Lan XiChen spoke pensively into the air of his elegant office as he leaned his elbows on the dark wood of his heavy oak desk. He laced his fingers together as he trained his eyes on the agent by the door. 

He considered one of his lieutenant with his sharp brown eyes and Lan Hao swallowed dryly as he felt the weight of that gaze. The tiny hairs on the back of his neck rose uncomfortably as he found himself under the full attention of the GusuLan boss. 

Lan XiChen was quite frankly terrifying. He was just as apt to smile at you as he was to shoot you dead between the eyes. He ran the Gusu City mafia with no mercy, not for his agents and not for his enemies. 

“Ah….uhm…….we got the shipment….all 12,000 kilos but….uhm…..” Lan Hao shifted nervously on his feet unwilling to finish his report. He couldn’t read his boss, no one could. No one could peer behind those piercing brown eyes to see the man underneath that crisp white suit and he was afraid. He was afraid of Lan XiChen, fearful of what he would do when he learned the truth of the mission at the international port. 

Lan XiChen ran hot and cold, his patience was limited and inflexible. You did what you were told or you got a bullet, there were no second chances in GusuLan and an uncomfortable silence settled around them as Lan XiChen stared at him. He stared at him with razor sharp eyes, that silence in the office palpable and Lan Hao knew he would have to speak.

He opened his mouth then closed it again, fear running up and down his spine, Lan XiChen did not take bad news well, in fact he could shoot you dead just on a whim, that warm smile terrifying as it curled his lips up even as he killed you in cold blood.

The silence grew thicker in the office, XiChen’s gaze a heavy weight. He would not ask again and this young agent had better speak up soon or he would drop him where he stood. He had no patience for stupidity or cowardice and if this lieutenant couldn’t come to terms with that, GusuLan didn’t need him. 

Luck it seemed was on his side though as a low knock echoed throughout the room and Lan Hao glanced over his shoulder in desperate relief as someone interrupted that awful meeting. 

“Enter…” Lan XiChen called in a soft voice, his eyes trained on his lieutenant when the door opened and Jiang Cheng stepped in. Lan Hao sighed roughly as he caught sight of his would be savior and XiChen snapped his hand, dismissing him immediately.

He spoke just as the lieutenant turned to bolt, “Lan Hao, we will not repeat this, do not disappoint me again…”

Lan Hao glanced back and nodded his head rapidly before he almost ran out the door thanking every god he knew that Jiang Cheng, the head of the YunmengJiang Gang was here to answer for the mission himself. 

“Lan XiChen,” Jiang Cheng nodded his head in greeting and XiChen smiled warmly at him as he looked at his newest partner. The YunmengJiang Gang was fierce and well respected, they took ‘no shit from anyone’ as Jiang Cheng had put it bluntly when he had first come to him seeking an alliance.

The head of YunmengJiang was dressed casually in dark blue jeans and a black shirt under a black leather jacket and he wore heavy, no nonsense boots on his feet. He had his long hair pulled back in his customary bun with a purple ribbon that hung down his back in a long line. 

And XiChen wondered idly if that was the custom of YunmengJiang because Lan WangJi’s little pet wore a long ribbon in his black hair as well. 

“So shit went sideways at the port, there was a shootout with Wen Chao and his dogs. We put a few bullets in ‘em and they ran with their tail between their legs like they always do,” Jiang Cheng sneered.

“Dumbass wanted the stock and threw a fit when he couldn’t have it. The crate’s in storage already and all 12,000 kilos are accounted for but the port’s gonna be hot for a while,” he shrugged nonchalantly and Lan XiChen raised an eyebrow as he considered the man standing in front of him. 

Jiang Cheng was bold and wild, he ran hot and his temper was something ferocious if he could go by the rumors and he knew no fear, none at all and Lan XiChen liked that, he liked that a lot. He could count on one hand how many people could look him in the eye. He trailed his gaze over the man standing in front of him with his hands shoved in his jacket pockets, his body relaxed as though he wasn’t in the terrifying presence of GusuLan’s ZeWu-Jun. 

“Very well, thank you for the report,” he spoke at last as he met those fiery blue eyes and Jiang Cheng nodded stiffly, “whenever you need us, give me a call,” he finished before he turned to leave and XiChen narrowed his eyes as his gaze fell to the floor, there was a steadily growing pool of blood around his left foot.

Jiang Cheng swayed for a moment, ever so slightly, and XiChen was up and around the desk before he even realized it when Jiang Cheng took one step and wobbled, his body listing to the side. He caught him immediately as the impressive head of YunmengJiang crumpled, collapsing in his arms.

Lan XiChen looked down at him then with a pensive look on his face, his brown eyes unreadable as he considered the ferocious SanDu ShengShou who looked suddenly so small, his face as white as a sheet. He tilted his head in contemplation as he let his gaze trail over his features. Jiang Cheng was a strikingly handsome man, his jaw cut and his nose elegant, his eyes a startling shade of blue, so pale they threw the summer sky to shame and unbidden, his hand rose up to caress his cheek with strange fondness. 

~*~

Jiang Cheng shifted stiffly as he blinked his long lashes hazily, an unfamiliar ceiling coming into view as he tried to drag his awareness up despite the throbbing in his head and the soreness of his body. He was sore all over, aching and tender from the Wens’ bullets. 

He turned his head to look around a room he didn’t recognize and he blinked again, adrenaline shooting through him as he caught sight of the handsome and intimidating Lan XiChen. He was sitting in an armchair, his long legs crossed elegantly as he turned the page of his book. 

He glanced up looking over his glasses with unreadable brown eyes, “good morning WanYin, or rather good night seeing as how its 3 in the morning…”

“Wh….” Jiang Cheng tried before he cleared his throat, his voice coming out hoarsely, “what the fuck?”

“You collapsed....quite beautifully actually, I gather the 5 bullets you took had something to do with it…” Lan XiChen slipped his glasses from the bridge of his nose and set his book to the side on the little table next to the lamp that cast the only light in the room. He stood up to his full height and he suddenly seemed so much bigger, so much more imposing in his crisp white suit and Jiang Cheng shifted to get up. He would not be intimidated by Lan XiChen, not by him or anyone else and he most certainly wasn’t going to lay in his bed or wherever the hell this was. 

He went to stand freezing in shock as he realized immediately he was naked, nothing but thick bandages around his body and he glanced up at ZeWu-Jun with irritation, “where the fuck are my clothes?”

“Really WanYin, shouldn’t you say thank you first? I kind of saved your life…” XiChen smiled at him, the warmth in it unsettling and eerie since Jiang Cheng was very aware of his reputation. Lan XiChen could torture you, could put a bullet right between you eyes with that same sweet smile and he snarled, “thank you now where.the.fuck are my clothes?!”

“You know WanYin, I don’t do charity…” XiChen purred at him and Jiang Cheng grimaced, “stop calling me that…” he gritted out as he tugged the blanket up a little higher, ignoring the pain in his head. He felt vulnerable and weak in front of ZeWu-Jun and he hated that. He hated that with a passion but he certainly wasn’t going to waltz out of there naked. 

“Why?” XiChen tilted his head watching him with those sharp brown eyes, trapping him there and he frowned. He would not be intimidated, not now, not ever and especially not by Lan XiChen, no matter how imposing he was. 

“We’re not close and you know it, so what the fuck do you want anyway?” He snapped staring into those eyes defiantly. 

“Hmmm…..I wonder….” XiChen’s smile grew a little wider before he walked closer to the bed and Jiang Cheng resisted the urge to scoot back. Lan XiChen was far more intimidating than he had bargained for and he loathed being here in his bed, naked and wounded. 

XiChen grabbed a glass of water and a handful of pills from the nightstand and held it out to him, “take it, you’ll feel better…”

“No thanks, I already owe you enough, so tell me what the fuck do you want,” he growled. He was losing patience with whatever game ZeWu-Jun was playing. His head hurt and his body was sore and he wanted his clothes and to get the hell away from this beautiful and eerie man who wore that sweet smile like a mask to hide his cold, black heart. 

“Take it…” Lan XiChen spoke again with steel in his voice and Jiang Cheng glared at him, “no, now tell me where my clothes are…”

“WanYin, you don’t want to play this game with me...now take it,” XiChen offered the glass and the medicine again and Jiang Cheng snapped his hand out slapping it from his fingers. It fell to the floor and shattered as Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes. Lan XiChen wouldn’t order him around like one of his little minions and ZeWu-Jun tilted his head. 

“So defiant,” he chuckled before he picked up the pills and took two swift steps forward. He laid a heavy handed slap on the largest bullet wound in his chest and Jiang Cheng gasped in pain, his eyes tearing up immediately but Lan XiChen just shoved the pills in his mouth and grabbed his chin hard. He slammed his mouth shut and pinched his nose.

Jiang Cheng jerked back but XiChen was too strong and he was too weak from pain and blood loss. He swallowed down the pills dryly before XiChen released him and he snarled, “what the fuck is wron--mmph!”

Lan XiChen cut him off with a swift kiss. He sealed his mouth with his own and Jiang Cheng gasped in shock before he reared back in alarm. He dragged his fist across his mouth, his eyes huge in surprise as a fetching blush took his cheeks. 

“Wh….what the fucking fuck?!” He growled as he looked up into those unreadable brown eyes. He leaned as far back as he could dragging the blanket up his chest as he swallowed dryly trying to come to terms with the fact that Lan XiChen, ZeWu-Jun, the most ruthless man to ever run the GusuLan mafia had just stolen his first kiss. 

“WanYin,” he purred, his voice low and alluring, “I want you,” he reached out and caressed his flush and Jiang Cheng blinked at him too shocked to respond. He slapped his hand away reflexively as he blinked again, “what the fuck does that even mean?!” He snapped weakly, unable to wrap his head around this situation but Lan XiChen didn’t let him think about it. 

He grabbed his chin and yanked him forward into a devouring kiss. He slanted their mouths together and shoved his tongue between his lips and Jiang Cheng tried to pull back. Who the fuck did ZeWu-Jun think he was?! Some whore? Some toy he could play with?! 

_Fuck you Lan XiChen!_

Jiang Cheng snapped his teeth biting him hard enough to draw blood and XiChen jerked back immediately, his hand coming up to his split lip and his brown eyes glittered in amusement. He dragged his fist across his mouth pinning Jiang Cheng in place with his sharp gaze. 

“WanYin--”

“FUCK YOU! I am not your fucking whore Lan XiChen, so back the fuck off!” Jiang Cheng snarled his blue eyes flashing with anger and ZeWu-Jun laughed, “you know….you’re so pretty when you’re mad WanYin...”

He grinned, that warm smile disappearing as something dark and humorous stole across his lips, “haha…..you act like you have a choice my WanYin...”

“FUCK YO--”

XiChen ripped his GusuLan ribbon off his forehead and in a flash he tied Jiang Cheng’s wrists and yanked them up and back looping that long white ribbon around the headboard, “WanYin, love, let me make myself clear, you’re mine now, your life is mine and your body is mine…” He spoke with that low purring voice and Jiang Cheng yanked at his arms, panic crawling up his spine as ZeWu-Jun watched him twist and pull against that ribbon. 

“WHAT THE FUCK?! I’M WARNING YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT, TAKE THIS DAMN THING OFF ME!” He snarled ferociously as he lifted his left leg up to kick him but XiChen was faster. He caught that long leg and shoved his hand into the bullet wound there. 

Fire erupted along his nerve endings as pain lanced through him and Jiang Cheng gasped, his eyes tearing up. He had forgotten his injuries with the painkillers and XiChen shocking the hell out of him. 

“WanYin, we can do this the hard way which will be unpleasant for us both or you can let me make love to you and I promise you, you will enjoy it…” XiChen gave him an easy smile, watching him pant and gasp as he dug his fingers into the deep wound on his thigh, blood pooling up in the white bandage.

“Huff…….f…...f…….fu…..huff………...mm…..fuck…..y…...y…….huff…...haa…….you!” Jiang Cheng tossed his head in pain and XiChen leaned in and nuzzled his cheek affectionately.

“WanYin, I saved your life love, you owe me a debt and this is what I want, are you a man of your word or not?” 

“Fuck….you...Lan XiChen, I will pay you whatever you want but not this!” Jiang Cheng hissed as those fingers pressed relentlessly into the bullet hole in his leg and XiChen purred, “why not? It can’t be so bad as all this, I will treat you well, you will enjoy it, so why do you fight so hard?”

“I’m not a….huff…...a...whore…..I pay….my….huff….debts….like…..like….a...mmm…...ugh…...man….”

“Hmmm….” XiChen hummed thoughtfully as he pressed a little kiss to Jiang Cheng’s cheek watching sweat bead on his hairline in pain and stress. He released his grip letting the younger man sag into the bed exhausted, panting hoarsely, his long lashes wet with tears of frustration and pain.

“WanYin, we are at an impasse then, I will take you tonight and I would like to be gentle with you…”

“Huff…….why….the fuck…..do….you want…..this….so badly?!” Jiang Cheng snapped with another huff as he turned to glare up into those piercing brown eyes. 

“Because I like you,” XiChen smiled at him and Jiang Cheng frowned, his eyebrows snapping together immediately, “what the fuck does that mean, you don’t even know me?!”

Lan XiChen tilted his head in consideration as he stared at him. He took a good, long look, trailing his eyes up and down over the man laying in his bed and he let him see him looking, something hot trickling into his brown eyes turning them amber in the light of that one lamp. 

He watched Jiang Cheng blush under his gaze and he liked that, he liked that a lot. Something about this man crept up under his skin, called to him, enticed him. He could count on one hand the people who could face him head on, who didn’t quail in fear at the mere mention of his name and one of those people was laying right there in his bed, glaring at him with those fiery blue eyes, the strength and steel of his willpower evident in the sparks that crackled through that beautiful gaze. Jiang Cheng would not be broken tonight, he would not bend and he would not break and he did not give a fuck what Lan XiChen thought and ZeWu-Jun found himself truly interested. He was truly and irrevocably interested in the ferocious SanDu ShengShou. 

He spoke after a while, his voice low as he looked into those incredibly blue eyes, “you are brave and proud…..strong, handsome…. what’s there not to like?”

Jiang Cheng blinked at him in consternation. _What’s there not to like? A whole hell of a lot Lan XiChen._ He narrowed his eyes as he considered the man considering him. Lan XiChen was a devastatingly beautiful man. He was tall and broad in the shoulders. His face masculine with a sharp cut to his jawline that would have made him handsome if not for the elegance of his cheek bones and the graceful angles of his eyes. He wore his long black hair in a low tail at the base of his neck and his bangs framed his piercing brown gaze. 

Those eyes were a force to be reckoned with, unreadable and deep, they called you in and trapped you there like the eyes of a panther, of a predator. Lan XiChen was unfathomable with those eyes that looked like a dark honey amber in the light of that low lamp. 

He tilted his head as they stared at each other and Jiang Cheng broke the silence with a mild voice, “are you…. crazy?” He asked him with real curiosity despite himself as he finally got his breathing under control. Lan XiChen must be bat shit insane. 

“Maybe….but I do like you WanYin...”

Jiang Cheng tossed his head back with a cynical laugh, “you don’t even know me Lan XiChen, and if you did you wouldn’t say that….”

“Why?” XiChen asked him as he settled himself to sit on the bed next to his captive looking for all the world like they were about to share a cup of tea or something else equally ridiculous. 

“Why do you care?” Jiang Cheng countered him with a raised eyebrow and XiChen smiled at him again, “because I like you,” he shrugged, “I like you and I want you so tell me why I shouldn’t”

Jiang Cheng blinked at him, the absurdity of this conversation boggling his mind. Why the hell would someone as impressive, someone as fearfully respected as ZeWu-Jun be asking him something so….bizarre?!

How was he even supposed to answer a question like that? And why was he even considering answering him at all?! Here he was naked, tied to a bed with ZeWu-Jun sitting politely in front of him and all he could focus on were those impossible deep brown eyes, his piercing amber eyes that pinned him to the spot.

Jiang Cheng swallowed a little dryly, yanking his gaze away to consider the bedspread. His head was turning in a circle. What the hell did Lan XiChen see in him? How could he see anything at all? It must be lust, that’s all it could be but out of every single person on the planet why was ZeWu-Jun interested in him? He was nothing special, he wasn’t some drop dead beauty, he wasn’t delicate or petite, he was long and lanky, and there was absolutely nothing special about him. 

He spoke at long last, his voice cold and weary as he told XiChen exactly what he wanted to hear, “Lan XiChen, I have a shit personality and a bad temper and I don’t give a fuck about what I say. I rub people the wrong way all the time. All you want is a quick fuck and I’m not a whore so untie me and we can settle this debt like men”

Lan XiChen ignored him and replied, “you have a fiery personality, you are strong and confident in yourself and you could never rub me the wrong way…” he trailed off with seduction in his voice, he turned those words into an invitation as his lashes lowered over his hot brown eyes. 

“Wh…..whatever…….you’re fucking crazy….” Jiang Cheng shifted awkwardly as that gaze pinned him to the spot for the hundredth time, every single time those piercing eyes caught him, his heart thumped in his chest with nervousness, adrenaline, stress; Lan XiChen was a health hazard and Jiang Cheng was getting tired of feeling like a mouse caught by a cat. 

“I’m not going to fuck you so let me go…” He spoke pointedly but XiChen countered him again, “why not?”

Jiang Cheng frowned at him, “uh...because I don’t know you? Because we’re not in a relationship? Because you tied me to a fucking bed?!”

“So if we were in a relationship, you would?” XiChen looked at him with interest and Jiang Cheng floundered at the unexpected question. He blinked back at him in complete confusion, his eyebrows snapping together in consternation as he was once again blindsided by the weird, strange ZeWu-Jun.

“What?!” He asked at last, unable to follow the thread of this conversation. What the hell did XiChen want from him?!

“If we were in a relationship, would you sleep with me?” XiChen spoke patiently as he looked into those confused blue eyes. He enjoyed looking at them, in fact he had the odd awareness that he could enjoy looking at them for hours, days even, such a startling shade of blue and the fiery spirit that crackled in them seemed to beckon him in, calling him deeper and deeper into the soul of the ferocious SanDu ShengShou. He waited quietly for Jiang Cheng to collect himself as another one of those pretty little blushes caught his cheeks as he considered that question.

“Uh…..I mean if…..if we were I suppose I would?” He managed awkwardly before he looked down again breaking that unsettling stare. He was so uncomfortable with this train of thought, so out of sorts as XiChen chuckled lightly.

“I see…..how cute WanYin….” He leaned in and caressed his pink cheek again and Jiang Cheng shifted away from him. He was so unused to physical affection, no one touched him, no one wanted to touch him except it seemed this weird Lan XiChen. 

“Stop touching me…” he mumbled feeling shy and exposed and it annoyed him to no end. He wanted to feel anger, he wanted to be furious but he was tired, exhausted from his injuries and exhausted by this whatever the fuck was going on with GusuLan’s ZeWu-Jun. 

“WanYin love, let me try this another way,” XiChen started as he leaned in. He laid his hands over the ones Jiang Cheng had twisted up in the blankets and he spoke warmly, “look at me please?”

Jiang Cheng canted his eyes over to meet his gaze again, against his better judgement and XiChen spoke solemnly, “I like you WanYin, be my boyfriend”

“What?!” He stared back in shock and Lan XiChen’s smile turned into a grin, “you want to get to know me, so let’s date”

“Who said I want to get to know you?!” Jiang Cheng snapped in alarm, blood rushing to his face again, he was suddenly blushing so bad he could feel the heat in his cheeks.

“You did…”

“I did not!”

“You did, so WanYin, be my boyfriend,” Lan XiChen lifted his hand and caressed his flushed skin affectionately, a soft gleam in his eye. 

“You have to be insane Lan XiChen…” Jiang Cheng mumbled disconnectedly as he tried to understand what the fuck was going on. He couldn’t follow the threads of this conversation at all. He couldn’t fathom this situation. 

“WanYin, I don’t want you for a fling,” he chuckled again, “you’re mine, I plan to keep you and make love you all night long and tomorrow and the next day so don’t fight it,” he leaned in stealing a quick little kiss and Jiang Cheng was too stunned to avoid it. 

“I….I said no,” Jiang Cheng frowned as his voice came out softer than he intended, his fury withering away under the ridiculousness of this conversation. 

“Ah...well...WanYin….you really don’t have a choice, do you?” XiChen smiled warmly and Jiang Cheng arched an eyebrow at him before he shivered as those long fingers traced around the bullet wound on his thigh. 

“Let me kiss you,” XiChen tilted his head and leaned forward to caress his cheek lightly, “let me make love to you WanYin...let me show you what a magnificent man you are…” XiChen purred and Jiang Cheng blinked at him in consternation as he wilted around the edges. 

He really couldn’t understand this, Lan XiChen was looking at him with those piercing eyes, his fingers soft on his cheek telling him he was magnificent. No one in his entire life thought he was worth a damn, not his mother, not his father, not his sister, not his brother. 

No one had ever kissed him before, no one had ever approached him with affection and he didn’t approach anyone either absolutely sure that no one would want him. Why would anyone willingly seek his company? He was mean, he was angry, he was temperamental and he was second rate at best. He had spent his entire life in the shadows of others, in the shadow of his brother, never good enough, never strong enough, never fast enough. 

Yet sitting on the bed in front of him was Lan XiChen, ZeWu-Jun, the most ruthless, most powerful man to ever run the GusuLan mafia and he was telling him he was magnificent, he was asking to bed him, to make love to him and Jiang Cheng just didn’t understand. 

“WanYin, you are incredible you know, even if you don’t believe me,” XiChen laughed as he watched the play of emotion over Jiang Cheng’s face. 

“I don’t make a habit of bedding people, much less tying them to my bed...……” Lan XiChen grinned at him, “but I do want you WanYin….”

“But….why?” Jiang Cheng spoke softly as he cast his eyes off to the side, unsure and uncomfortable as he tugged at his wrists weakly. 

“Because I like your spirit, because you are wild and unbroken, because you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen,” XiChen leaned in and slipped his hands under his chin to turn his face and see those very same eyes again. 

“Because you are you, WanYin, that’s why”

Jiang Cheng looked up into those piercing brown eyes that were strangely warm and yet unfathomable, but it seemed there was truth there as well. For all that he was ruthless, for all that he was cold and cruel, he seemed sincere in that moment. 

“ZeWu-Jun, I am nothing special, I am not what you think I am, so stop this, let me go…” He spoke softly, weakly, wilting under that gaze that seemed to peer into his very soul. 

“No WanYin, you are mine now,” XiChen spoke succinctly as he turned his hand to cup Jiang Cheng’s cheek, he let his thumb caress his pale skin fondly and Jiang Cheng bit his lip. He was so uncomfortable, so out of sorts. This was so ridiculous, so insane and yet he wondered for a single moment in time, what it would be like to give in, to make love to this man. What would it feel like to kiss him for real, to let this man show him he was worthwhile, show him he was magnificent. 

How strange it was to think that, how fucked up it was to look for affection in a man so hard and dark, in a man so cruel and callous, his thigh throbbing dully from the vicious handling by that very same man. What kind of a freak was he to even consider Lan XiChen’s twisted form of affection? 

Lan XiChen seemed to read his indecision correctly and he leaned in again and kissed him. He kissed him softly, delicately, his hands moving to cup his cheeks gently. He didn’t ravish his mouth like he had done earlier, instead he pressed tiny little kisses to his lips, one after the other and Jiang Cheng was torn in half. Part of him wanted to resist, part of him wanted to punch him but he grew weak under the affection in that kiss, weak under the softness and sweetness he had never experienced before.

No one was sweet to him, no one treated him as if he was made of glass, as if his kiss was precious and he realized foggily that he was starved for it. He was starved for affection. He had spent his whole life angry and envious of others, envious of their talents, envious of the affection he had seen growing up, affection denied to him by his mother, by his father, by everyone. People ran from him, people avoided him and fought with him, they didn’t look at him fondly, they didn’t treat him sweetly. 

No one in this wretched world thought he was worth a damn except it seemed Mr. Lan XiChen and when he slipped his tongue out and caressed a light line across the seam of his lips, he wavered, he trembled and he slowly opened his mouth for him. 

He was swept along by ZeWu-Jun’s pace, overwhelmed by those honey brown eyes, captivated by them and no matter how he tried to rally himself, how he tried to resist it, his heart was weak in his chest. It was weak to this slow kiss, he was so unbearably weak to this affection as XiChen caressed his tongue with his own. He licked lightly, gently, infusing his senses with the scent of sandalwood and teak. 

He slipped one hand behind his neck and rubbed there fondly with soft fingers and Jiang Cheng shivered again. He was melting in place, he was weakening and his resolve failed him. How he could just give in like this was shameful, it was truly pathetic how easily a man like Lan XiChen could play him.

He wasn’t a fool to believe in ZeWu-Jun’s affection, he wasn’t a teenager so easily beguiled and yet he wrapped the comfort of someone else’s touch around his heart. He wilted into it growing soft and weaker still until Lan XiChen untied that ribbon and released his hands and unbidden Jiang Cheng looped his arms around his neck with a sigh. 

He wouldn’t fight this anymore. He wasn’t some doe eyed virgin girl who played in fantasies of true love and he resisted the naive desire to save himself for someone who loved him. No one would ever come along who _could_ love him and here was a man who desired him, who saw value in him even if it was just for one night. 

And Jiang Cheng decided then that for this one night, he would enjoy this, he would let ZeWu-Jun make love to him and he would cherish it, he would lock it away in his heart as a memory to relive in the lonely hours of the night when he was trapped with nothing but his failures, his thoughts spiraling in unending loops of self-depreciation and hatred. He hated himself, he hated how weak he was, how he couldn’t protect his family, how he couldn’t protect his parents, his sister, even his brother. 

Wei WuXian was the only person in the entire world to treat him like a friend, to value him, even if only a little and the catastrophic mistake he had made 5 years ago that led to the deaths of almost the entire Jiang clan was an old wound in Jiang Cheng’s heart. 

It was a deep, sore wound but he was older now, old enough to see the truth for what it was. Wei WuXian didn’t murder his family, he didn’t willfully cause their deaths and he was no longer a young, impetuous man who couldn’t see the reality behind that botched mission that let the Wens in to slaughter them. 

But Wei Ying was gone, he had disappeared from his life a long time ago though a few rumors here and there whispered of a man with a long red ribbon seen in the company of the GusuLan’s black Shadow. But rumors were just that, vague and few. 

XiChen leaned into his mouth laying him back against the pillows, his long black hair fanning out around his pale shoulders and Jiang Cheng let him, he was submissive there and quiet under his lips as that sweet kiss went on and on as they learned the shape of each other's mouths.

This wasn’t so bad and being in the arms of a man so strong, so powerful and dominant allowed him peace, allowed him the ability to relax the ironclad grip he had on his emotions, it allowed him to be weak, to be soft and he allowed himself that.

For one night, he would let his guard down, for one night he would revel in the affections of another person, in the warmth and comfort of something so sweet and soft like the kiss ZeWu-Jun laid against his lips. 

How starved he was for it, how desperately he wanted someone to love him. So desperate, so weak to this need, he was willing to give himself to a stranger, give himself to the ruthless boss of the GusuLan mafia. How pathetic.

Lan XiChen pulled back from their deep kiss after an eon and he whispered against those lips that were pink and wet, “WanYin love, let me make love to you?”

Jiang Cheng fluttered his long lashes as he opened his eyes again to meet the warm brown gaze above him and he tilted his head in consideration. Was he really going to do this? Was he really going to give his virginity to Lan XiChen but the answer came so easily to him. 

He would, he would let himself be weak for the first time in his entire life. He would let someone else take the reins, he would let someone else take control and he sagged into the bed in submission, “fine then, Lan XiChen….I don’t know what the fuck you see in me but if you want it so badly, then take it…”

But Lan XiChen just kissed him again, one more time as though he could not bear to do anything else and he slipped his crisp white suit jacket to the floor. His hands made quick work on the buttons of his dress shirt, tugging off his tie until he sat there in nothing but his slacks and Jiang Cheng pulled back to look at him. 

He pushed him back just a little to take him in and he trailed his blue eyes over the firm set of his shoulders and the long line of his muscles. He was in perfect form, his body chiseled and defined but that’s not what caught his attention. Rather instead of the beauty of his body, his chest was criss crossed with scars. Long ones, short ones, puckered ridges from bullet wounds covered his upper body and Jiang Cheng reached out to caress them with light fingertips. 

He hadn’t expected that, he hadn’t expected to see so many scars and thick welts that marred his perfectly pale skin but he stayed as silent as Lan XiChen as he sat patiently under those curious hands. 

He allowed those light touches for a while before he leaned in and tugged the blanket off and out of the way. Jiang Cheng wilted a little more, looking away as a blush caught his cheeks. He had never felt so vulnerable, so weak in front of another as he did under those piercing brown eyes as they looked him over and Lan XiChen seemed to read him correctly again.

He slipped his hand under his chin and pulled his face up to look into those breathtaking blue eyes. He spoke softly into the silence between them, “you are beautiful WanYin, you are gorgeous…”

“I am not…” Jiang Cheng mumbled feeling so shy as his cheeks flared up again.

“You are, you are magnificent WanYin and I will show you just how beautiful you are…” XiChen followed his word with a lean as he settled his hands down on the bed to frame Jiang Cheng’s chest. He lowered his mouth to his lips again to kiss him, to devour him, this one hot and passionate.

It turned sultry and deep and it split the scab on XiChen’s lower lip, blood slipping into their mouths with a few thick drops, a reflection of the lives they lived so full of carnage and violence, the vague taste of copper sliding across their tongues. It was fitting that they would share a kiss like this, that even in their moments of passion, they could not escape the blood they shed, the lives they took, bound as they were to this underworld. They were irrevocably tied to this darkness where cruelty and death stalked their footsteps and painted their lives in tones of black and red and grey. 

Though XiChen found a single drop of color in the greyscale of his world, the brightest blue drifted into his heart to lighten the weight of the sins on his soul just as soft as the velvety press of the lips on his.

Jiang Cheng was fire, he was heat, he was wild and untamed by the life they lived and though his heart was held down by shackles just as profound as the ones on his own heart, he was free somehow, his spirit unbroken and yet he was so sweet under him, his kisses tentative, his body trembling against him.

For all that he was ferocious and fiery, he was so delicate in his passion, so gentle in his touch, the arms around his neck shivering as he gave himself up to Lan XiChen and he treasured that. He had had people in his bed before, he had had wild, passionate trysts but nothing like this. Nothing so sweet, nothing so valuable. He could tell after just one real kiss between them, that Jiang Cheng had no experience with love and his cold heart throbbed in his chest at the gift he was giving him. 

No one came to him for tenderness, no one bothered to get close to him and the loneliness of the life he lived, the cruelty of the life he weathered left him hollow and empty. It killed the light in his heart and stole happiness from his fingertips. There was no joy in his world, no peace. He was ruthless and he had to be. He could never let his guard down, he could never sleep through the night, always aware of his surroundings, always ready for the knife aimed at his back.

He was the indisputable head of the greatest mafia Gusu had ever had and when he had laid Jiang Cheng in his bed unconscious and wounded he had thought to toy with him. To use him for a few nights of pleasure but WanYin was worth so much more than that. He demanded so much more than that and Lan XiChen was willing to give him what he deserved. He was willing to accept that trust and it pulled up such a ferocious need to protect the one who would seek solace in his embrace. 

It called to something primal and base, deep in his chest and he ached with it. He ached as his lonely heart throbbed and beat a powerful drum inside him. He wanted someone to love, he craved it and he had long ago lost hope for who would ever love the monster he was but here, in this moment, he found something special. He discovered a man who would lay in his arms weak and vulnerable, who would kiss him with affection. A man who gave himself to him with his whole heart, with passion that wasn’t lust, rather it was desire for love as well. 

There was something so broken about the two of them, so damaged and worn down and XiChen decided then and there as WanYin trembled under his kiss that he would love this man. He would keep him for real and he would treasure him. He would care for his wounded heart and he found truth in the words he had spoken earlier. WanYin was his now and forever more. 

He moved his lips from that seductive mouth and trailed hot open mouthed kisses down the elegant column of his neck and WanYin moaned so headily, so passionately, his voice low and breathy at such a simple touch and it lit a fire in XiChen’s belly. It burned him straight through and he trailed his hands down between their bodies to touch him directly. 

He couldn’t worship his body like he wanted too, the layers and layers of bandages hiding most of his torso but he would turn his head regardless. He would make that breathy voice go louder, he would love him until he cried and screamed in pleasure, until he couldn’t tell up from down and he tugged lightly on the swelling shaft between those long legs. 

Jiang Cheng gasped as that broad hand settled over him and he stiffened up completely, his hips arching into it immediately and XiChen grinned against the bend in his neck. He wrapped his lips around the base and dug his teeth in possessively and Jiang Cheng moaned so breathily he just had to suck harder. 

WanYin was so wildly open with his pleasure as though he let go of all his reservations, let his guard down so easily with the ruthless ZeWu-Jun and it was such a gift to XiChen, to be trusted so completely and he vowed deep in his heart that he would never betray that trust. He would never break that heart that didn’t realize it was his now but XiChen would teach him. He would show him who he belonged to, show him who would lighten his burdens, who would ease the strain on his soul.

He tugged a few more times on that thick cock in his hand before he slid down the bed, careful not to put pressure on his wounds and he settled himself between those long, long legs. He lifted them over his shoulders and nuzzled up between the pale cheeks of his round ass to let his tongue caress him. 

And WanYin gasped as he felt it, he felt that thick, wet tongue rub wetly over his hole and he surrendered himself to it, he let it turn his head upside down as XiChen laved and licked and flicked him. It fluttered over and against him, over and over and over again and it felt so good he didn’t know what to do, his voice falling out of him in breathy pants as he got hotter and hotter and hotter. 

XiChen rubbed his tongue into that tight puckered little ring, nudging it and pushing, working it open as he dedicated himself to the act. He buried his face deeper into those soft cheeks and shoved one more time against his entrance until he slipped up into it. He pushed deeply then, as deep as he could rolling his tongue inside him just as that breathy moan turned deeper with a hitching gasp, his thighs trembling on his shoulders.

Jiang Cheng felt his lashes flutter closed under the sensations as XiChen moved his mouth, pushing and pulling rhythmically, pleasuring him with his lips and his tongue, his broad hands wrapping around his upper thighs as he devoured that tight little hole. 

It was so hot to hear WanYin’s moans, so hot to feel him clutching lightly, his entrance twitching and he canted his hips into the bed to try and rub some friction along his aching length. He was so hard, so thick already, the white fabric of his slacks tented lewdly but still he worked him, grinding himself gently into the mattress under them.

He spent a long time mouthing and sucking and licking letting Jiang Cheng’s husky voice roll down his back like a caress. XiChen’s head was almost spinning with lust, with heat and desire and he reached into his pocket to snag the bottle of lube he had grabbed earlier. 

From the very moment this beautiful man had collapsed in his arms back in his office, he had intended to have him, to take him all night long though he could never have anticipated the rush of emotions in his chest when this man, so proud, so defiant, opened himself up to this moment, opened himself up to allow XiChen to make love to him. 

He was not a whore and he would not be treated like one and Lan XiChen was all too willing, all too eager to please him, to turn his head upside down until he would want pleasure with no one but him.

XiChen finally pulled back from that delicious ass and leaned up to kneel between those long legs again. He popped the cap of that little bottle and filled his hand with satiny, slick liquid before he carefully slipped two fingers inside him, his body loose and warm, that hole swallowing him up and he bit back a groan. He wanted him so badly, he wanted to take him hard and fast, take him over and over until they lost their minds to this madness. 

But he tempered himself, he willed himself back down as he slid his fingers deeper into him searching around for that little bud that would turn Jiang Cheng’s world inside out and while he did, he cast his gaze over WanYin. 

Jiang Cheng looked truly magnificent laying under him, his long black hair curling around his shoulders, his face flushed with that pretty blush, his mouth swollen and red from their endless kisses and XiChen whispered, “WanYin….love, look at me…”

WanYin heard him almost from a mile away as he tried to gather his wits. His body was thrumming with pleasure, heat coiling up inside him and running hot up and down his nerve endings as XiChen touched him, fondling his body with those broad hands. He forced his lashes open just enough to look up at him and XiChen resisted a heavy groan as he caught sight of those gorgeous blue eyes. Lust had darkened them to a rich navy that glittered up at him hazily and he had never seen anything quite so alluring.

He tilted his head, staring at him as he let his hand twist, his long fingertips caressing around until he found what he was looking for. He grinned then something dominant and predatory around his mouth when WanYin jerked with a stilted gasp, his body twitching almost violently. 

And XiChen did it again, he pressed firmly into that little bud before he moved his fingers in rhythmic circles massaging it slowly and Jiang Cheng groaned, “haannnnnmmmmmmahhhh!!!”

He moaned long and deep, his breathy voice sliding against XiChen’s ears like satin, like velvet and he gritted his teeth against the urge to take him. He wanted him so badly he was dripping in his pants and he reached his free hand down to pop the button on his slacks, freeing himself with a dry swallow. 

He wrapped his fingers around his long shaft tugging it a little erratically as he concentrated on milking his lover, he would tease him until that little bud was swollen and soft, tease him until Jiang Cheng couldn’t stand it anymore and he started to pump his hand in and back out and in and back out pressing into it over and over and WanYin tossed his head, panting heavily, the sounds he made so sexy and alluring around them.

WanYin arched into the sensations as he slipped his hand down to his cock but XiChen pushed him away with a low voice, “no love, I will make you cum tonight…”

And Jiang Cheng slitted his lashes open, something desperate in his navy blue eyes as he gasped again, his voice tumbling past his lips as his breath came faster and faster, his release started to coil up in his belly and right as his body pulled tight, XiChen pulled back slipping his fingers from that hot little hole. 

WanYin whined at the lost with a frustrated glare as he glanced up just about to complain when he paused as he took a good look at Lan XiChen, he was flushed, his pale cheeks pink and his amber eyes were dark with heady lust. He met his eyes head on with a slow lick of his lips. 

He smiled wolfishly, snagging the lube and lifting his shaft straight up to show it off and Jiang Cheng gulped. It looked a little too big, a little too long and yet it looked lurid as well as it stood tall and proud against his chiseled abdomen. It twitched in the air lewdly as XiChen poured the slick lube all over it before he pumped his hand shallowly letting WanYin stare before he scooted in close.

His knees slid wide around his body as he lifted those long legs up and over his shoulders again and he leaned forward to brace his arms around his chest staring into his eyes the whole time. He drifted in close to kiss those swollen lips as he let the thick tip of his cock nudge that little pink hole and Jiang Cheng stiffened up nervously. 

“Relax my WanYin, it will only hurt a little bit,” he purred against his mouth and Jiang Cheng wilted under that sexy voice. He wondered foggily if it was possible to fall in love with someone’s voice, if it was actually possible for him to fall in love with Lan XiChen and he thought disconnectedly that he must be bat shit insane to think something like that. How stupid would it be to fall in love with a one night stand. How incredibly stupid would it be to fall for the GusuLan boss himself. 

Maybe XiChen had scrambled his brain with his tenderness, with his sweet and considerate caresses and those hot, wet lips but he relaxed his body for him regardless. He willed it to open up, to accept that thick head that was rubbing his entrance. It nudged him and pulled back and pushed just a little before easing off as XiChen filled his mouth with his tongue again, that vague coppery taste suffusing their kisses. He had split his lip deeply and the minutes or hours he spent devouring his hole hadn’t done much for the cut on his lower lip.

But Jiang Cheng didn’t care, it seemed hotter somehow, more profound to taste iron in their mouths. It seemed appropriate for two men so bathed in the blood of others, so damned by the deaths that stalked their footsteps. They had killed plenty of times, Lan XiChen more than most especially when he had first assumed his place as the head of GusuLan. He had killed so many people and the only one who rivaled his body count was the black Shadow he called his brother. 

WanYin hummed encouragingly into their heady kiss and XiChen canted his hips forward, pressing and pushing firmly. He pushed until that soft entrance opened up under him and he eased his long, hard shaft up inside him all the way to the hilt with a hot, slick glide. 

Jiang Cheng’s breath hitched in their mouths and XiChen paused then, willing himself still. He would not ravage his innocent lover, he would not tear his ass apart like he truly wanted to. Not tonight, not this time. This time he would treasure him, he would show him how much he truly did like him. There would be other chances to fuck, other ways, other positions and he would see to it that WanYin enjoyed every one of them but tonight, in this moment, he would take him slowly, gently, he would make love to him and teach him with his body just how valuable he was, just how much it meant to a man like XiChen to have someone trust him so completely. 

The only other human being to trust him like this was his brother and WangJi was frigid at best, though the affections of his little Yunmeng pet Wei WuXian had softened the steel in his golden eyes and XiChen had had the privilege of seeing a real smile on his little brother’s face, something so faint, so small and private and he liked Wei Ying for that fact alone.

When he had first met the infamous YiLing Laozu, he had been less than impressed. Wei WuXian had been a lackluster husk of a man, melancholy and depression trailing around him like an ever present shadow and he had wondered then at Lan Zhan’s choice of partners but Wei Ying had changed over the 5 years he had been with Lan WangJi.

Lan Zhan had lit the fire in his heart again, had given him a reason to live and with his peace so too came his little brother’s happiness and ZeWu-Jun had been so pleased to see that, so very pleased to see someone who could bring some kind of lightness to the little brother he loved so much, loved as much as he was able to with his dark heart. XiChen, just like Lan WangJi, was damaged and broken by this life of cruelty and death and blood. The feelings and emotions in his chest crippled, empty and hollow but it seemed the YunmengJiangs ran hot enough to thaw their icy hearts, to move them in ways they hadn’t thought possible. 

Wei WuXian was fiery now, bold and highly skilled and Lan XiChen had been pleased to have him join GusuLan. He was very much like his brother in that respect. Jiang Cheng was fire incarnate, his strength of will something powerful and the flickering heat of his spirit called to him like a moth to the flame. 

He craved that life, that warmth, he wanted to wrap himself up in WanYin, drown in it, suffocate in it. He had never realized just how much he needed Jiang Cheng’s light in his life. He had never considered taking a lover, taking a partner, no one seemed worthwhile to him. No one caught his interest as surely as the proud head of YunmengJiang and XiChen finally tugged his hips back out slowly before canting them in again before he did it once more. 

He set an easy rhythm, in and back and in deep and back again fighting every single instinct he had to take him hard and fast. He would not do that, not tonight. He would treasure the gift that was the man in his bed and he slipped his hand between their bodies to tug on WanYin’s shaft with that same slow rhythm.

In and up and back and out, his hand pumping in time only to buck his hips in again to bury himself as deeply as he could before he grinded then. He rolled his body shoving against that swollen bud inside him and Jiang Cheng groaned heavily. He was almost delirious with pleasure, “haa…..aaaa…..mmmm….haaaaaaannnnn…….hhhhuuuufff……..mmmmm…...ahh!”

He tossed his head when that thick cock grinded into that spot within him while that broad hand rubbed up and down on his shaft and he arched his body into it. It felt so good, so incredibly good. XiChen was a patient lover, he was considerate and gentle and he had spent so long preparing him, the sting of that initial stretch had worn off already, his body oh so willing for the impressive ZeWu-Jun to make love to him and so XiChen did. 

He pulled back and bucked his hips up at an angle so every thrust he gave him rubbed against that spot and he just fell apart. He lost the threads of his thoughts, he lost control over his voice, he lost himself in the passionate pumping of those steady hips as they dragged him closer and closer to the edge. 

He forced his eyes open to meet those piercing brown eyes as he bucked his hips just a little faster shoving up, over and over and over across that spot and WanYin gasped and groaned and moaned. He knew dimly he was too loud, he was too wanton in his sounds but he couldn’t stop, his ending swirling up through him as it pulled tighter and tighter inside him. 

He leaned up and offered his lips for a kiss and XiChen gave it to him willingly. He plundered his mouth this time, he devoured him, sought to eat him alive, his hips pumping faster and deeper, rubbing and grinding and rolling in and back out and in deep and back out again, over and over their bodies slapped together with lewd smacks that filled ZeWu-Jun’s bedroom with the sounds of sex and lust, passion almost echoing around them.

Lan XiChen was panting now, his swollen lips open as he huffed, sweat beading on his chest and running down his neck as he dedicated himself to pleasuring his lover. He rolled his hips and he pumped his hand and he licked and kissed that sweet mouth and WanYin moaned so heavily, so loudly, his wild voice tumbling from their moving mouths and still XiChen took him. 

Over and in and back to push in again before rolling back out only to press up again, that hot hole swallowing him up when he bucked only to drag against his shaft when he tugged back, his own ending coiling up within him.

He was so close now, so very close and he pitched his body deeper, faster, his hand rubbing erratically and he pistoned his hips in deep and out and in fast with a smack and with one more buck, WanYin froze under him, his tongue stilling in his mouth as his release stole over him. 

Jiang Cheng cried out, so headily, so huskily, his back bowing and he tossed his head to the side breaking their kiss, his toes curling up and his legs growing taut on XiChen’s shoulder as that pressure in his belly snapped rushing through him. He came so hard lights exploded behind his eyes and he jerked hard and all the while XiChen just kept fucking him, forcing himself into that clutching hole until he too found his ending. 

It was so powerful it curved his spine and stiffened every single muscle he had as he poured himself into his lover. He felt his body grow so tight it was almost unbearable before he relaxed completely, languid and spent, his head hanging low as he gasped.

He huffed and panted nuzzling into WanYin’s cheek affectionately. He was panting just as hard, his chest heaving and his lashes fluttering and they stayed just like this, XiChen braced above him on his hands, his nose rubbing that flushed cheek interspersed with so many sweet little kisses, Jiang Cheng blinking blearily as he tried to connect himself again, tried to piece himself back together and unbidden he turned his face into XiChen’s affectionate kisses to steal one for himself. 

Lan XiChen tugged slowly out of him before his laid his body over his own, his weight heavy and comforting despite his injuries and whether it was the painkillers XiChen had forced on him or the euphoria of their love making, he realized dimly that his battered body didn’t hurt even with that long strong body against him and Jiang Cheng took a moment to savor that, to enjoy that. He enjoyed the warmth and the closeness as a glow spread over them both.

The glow of that incredible tryst suffused him with lethargy but reality trickled in around his thoughts, undeniable and irrefutable as he realized it was over. He realized almost immediately that XiChen was done with him, would leave him with nothing but the memories of their gentle love making, memories of his affection and he felt a few tears well up in his big blue eyes. He turned his face away to hide his stupid emotions, his lashes fluttering to stop those embarrassing tears. He must be insane, he had to be bat shit insane to want this night to never end. What folly was it to want XiChen’s attention, how stupid was it to fall for a one night stand, to find himself almost infatuated with ZeWu-Jun’s tenderness. 

These feelings were not real, this affection had no basis in reality. There was no way he could keep Lan XiChen, no way he could savor the comfort of his attention, the warmth of his affection. He must have a trail of broken hearted lovers if he made love to them this way and Jiang Cheng refused to acknowledge how his heart hurt knowing without a shadow of a doubt that their one night of passion was all there was between them, all there would ever be. 

Lan XiChen gazed at him as WanYin turned his head, breaking their sweet kiss and he would not allow that. He lifted his hand and turned his cheek to look at those beautiful eyes again but he avoided him so XiChen nuzzled his nose questioningly but still Jiang Cheng refused to look up. He nipped the tip of his nose hard enough to sting and those blue eyes flew open in shock. 

“WanYin love, don’t avoid me now, not after all this….” He purred warmly as he watched those eyes blink at him in surprise. 

“What……..what do you…...uhm….” Jiang Cheng tried but his voice failed him as he realized he had nothing to say. What did you say to someone who just made love to you so delicately, so sweetly despite not loving you? It seemed almost ridiculous, like some game they played, pretending to be lovers for this one night. 

He frowned a little before shifting away from XiChen. He made as if to scoot out from under that unbelievably comforting weight, to leave it and shoulder the reality of their lives again and Lan XiChen refused that too. He dropped his full weight down on top of him, pinning him to the bed and he spoke softly into the space between them, “I think not love, cuddle with me, we have the whole night together….”

“I don’t want to cuddle,” Jiang Cheng huffed with false annoyance and he truly tried to rally his heart, tried to pull himself together enough to put an end to this charade but XiChen arched an eyebrow at him, “yes you do,” he whispered, his fingers tracing the little pout that curved WanYin’s swollen lips.

Jiang Cheng bit his lip as he looked away from those amber eyes. He looked off to the side to avoid showing him just how vulnerable he felt, to avoid showing him just how much he craved the closeness of another person, how much he needed it, how much he wanted it and he muttered coldly. 

“Lan XiChen, couples cuddle, people in love cuddle, we are neither, so let me up. You got what you wanted, my debt is paid for…”

Lan XiChen considered those downcast eyes, his gaze tracing those long lashes, wet with a few teardrops either from their earlier passion or from the maelstrom of emotions that rocked through his blue eyes and he leaned in to kiss him again but WanYin refused him this time. 

“Don’t, we’re done, so let me up, I think we’ve played pretend for long enough don’t you?” He tried to snap, his tone turning sharp at the end but there was no heat in his words, his eyes so sad, so lonely and Lan XiChen sighed, a heavy, put upon sigh. He resisted a fond shake of his head. Apparently his little WanYin was going to be stubborn but it was endearing in an odd kind of way. 

“WanYin...love, I asked you to be my boyfriend, I told you I liked you and I just made love to you, so don’t play with my heart, I don’t plan to let you go so you should probably get used to the idea,” he chuckled and Jiang Cheng blinked at him, his eyes wide. He opened his mouth to reply then closed it then opened it again at another loss for words. What the hell was wrong with this man?! What the hell was wrong with _him_ for feeling so warm and comforted by those words. 

“You must be mad, ZeWu-Jun, you don’t want me, ok, you got your quick fuck so just stop, stop saying all these stupid things, stop jerking with me around, I am not a toy, so just…..stop it….” his voice trailed off with a tremble, soft and hoarse, a few tears collecting along his lashes. 

He couldn’t take this, he couldn’t lay here and let XiChen tease him and mess with his head. He wasn’t so cold that he could handle this game. In fact he was the opposite. His heart was so vulnerable, so weak to affection, so weak to any semblance of love and he knew if XiChen kept this stupid charade up he would fall for him, in fact he was vaguely aware that he was already half in love with this impossible, insane, ridiculous man.

“WanYin, what do I have to do to convince you that I want you, that I won’t let you go?” XiChen started to speak, his hand lifting up to card back through those sweaty, messy black bangs with so much gentle tenderness, Jiang Cheng trembled, he glanced down from those beautiful amber eyes shy and uncomfortable.

“What will it take for you to believe me?” He whispered as he leaned in to press his nose into his cheek, “should I kiss you again?” He followed doing just that to lay a little kiss on his skin that had turned pale as the passion of their encounter finally released him. 

“Should I make love to you again?” He asked, his voice turning just a little softer, “should I just drag you off and marry you so you can’t try to run from me?”

Jiang Cheng blinked in tired astonishment as he listened to XiChen’s sweet nothings, “we can’t get married Lan XiChen, don’t be ridiculous…”

“WanYin love, let me be honest,” he started and those blue eyes looked up at him with nervousness and shyness as he gave his impromptu lover his attention. 

“When I brought you here, I was just going to fuck you, simple, no strings attached, but you…..you are so….beautiful, so proud, so strong and sweet WanYin, you are the sweetest and I….I realized I was unwilling to just bed you. I am unwilling to let it go like this”

“Be mine WanYin, for real, be with me, stay with me, give me a chance to show you just how beautiful, just how magnificent of a man you truly are….…”

“............” Jiang Cheng stared into the eyes that stared back and him and he floundered, he lost the threads of his thoughts as his voice tumbled out of him, “I….I can’t…...when...when you see who I truly am, when you get to know me, you will leave just like everyone else and I….I can’t take that, I won’t survive it…” He confessed weakly, looking away with shame. He was nothing, second rate at best, he was no match for Lan XiChen, ZeWu-Jun of the most powerful mafia to ever run Gusu City. 

“I am not….I am….. worthless….and I just---mmph…” XiChen cut him off with a deep, soft kiss, so gentle, so sweet that all those tears on WanYin’s lashes dropped lightly down his cheeks to leave little wet trails along his skin.

“You are not WanYin, and I am willing to spend the rest of my life showing you that so….let me do that….”

Jiang Cheng sniffed a little as he looked up at him and he mumbled, “you will leave me….everyone leaves me in the end….”

“I won’t, I swear it,” XiChen spoke firmly and he kissed him again, he kissed him for a long, long time and WanYin wilted. He sagged into the bed as his lover pulled them into lust and desire and sex. XiChen would take him again and then he would do a third time and maybe even a fourth, WanYin lost track of how long, how soft and how hard ZeWu-Jun loved him that night. 

They made love over and over drowning in each other, drowning and gasping and panting and moaning as two broken hearts discovered just how profound it was to love another and Lan XiChen knew that for as long as he lived, he would love Jiang WanYin if for no other reason than for just how sweetly, just how passionately he loved him back.

~*~

It was two days later when Jiang Cheng, the leader of the YunmengJiang Gang, would walk out of ZeWu-Jun’s bedroom, his body tired and sore and so well loved he was almost glowing. His long hair was loose around his shoulders as he slipped his hand into the pocket of his black leather jacket to touch the white satin band of the GusuLan ribbon again. 

He still couldn’t quite understand the reality he found himself in, the strange insanity that had seized him but here he was, whole and for the very first time, he felt cared for, he felt loved, his heart warm in his chest and he wrapped his fingers around that ribbon fondly. 

Lan XiChen had stolen his own purple ribbon with a shameless grin and Jiang WanYin couldn’t bring himself to take it back. Perhaps they were a match made in hell but he would enjoy ZeWu-Jun, he would wrap his twisted affection around him and offer his own, two broken hearts in this dark, bloody underworld they live in, though...it seemed just a little a shade lighter somehow.

-FIN-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading, I love WangXian and XiCheng so I added a part 2, Ribbons is complete now and I hope you enjoyed reading some dark Lan Zhan and dark af Lan XiChen <3 I'd love to read your feedback, kudos, comments or concerns :)


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